MLB Player News

Alcantara won't start Wednesday's regular-season finale against Atlanta, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.

Alcantara capped off his dominant season Friday in Milwaukee, allowing a run on five hits and no walks while striking out eight in eight innings to take an unlucky loss. While he would have lined up to start Wednesday on normal rest, manager Don Mattingly said Saturday that the right-hander won't pitch again in 2022 in order to give him extra rest ahead of the offseason. Alcantara had a career-best season during the 2022 campaign, posting a 2.28 ERA, 207:50 K:BB and 0.98 WHIP in 228.2 innings over 32 starts.

Heaney is slated to pitch behind starter Julio Urias during Tuesday's game against the Rockies, Matthew Moreno of DodgerBlue.com reports.

Heaney served as a primary pitcher Thursday against the Padres and earned the win by allowing three hits and a walk while striking out six over four scoreless innings. Manager Dave Roberts hopes that Urias and Heaney will be able to handle the entire game Tuesday, so each pitcher should have a sizable workload as long as they can limit the Rockies' offensive production.

Webb is dealing with back stiffness and may not make another start this season, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Webb's injury doesn't appear to be a major one, but there's little sense in risking anything with the Giants all but eliminated from postseason contention. The 25-year-old righty has seen his innings jump from 148.1 last year to 192.1 this season, so shutting him down at this point may be a good idea even if he weren't dealing with a minor injury. Webb's turn in the rotation is due up Sunday, so the Giants will likely have to make a decision quite soon.

Ashby will start Saturday's game against the Marlins.

Ashby worked out of the bullpen during Sunday's loss to the Reds and allowed a run on two hits and two walks while failing to record a strikeout in 1.2 innings. He hasn't tossed more than 41 pitches in either of his two appearances since returning from the injured list, so it's possible that he won't be able to handle a full workload as Saturday's starter.

Sanchez was recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to serve as the 29th man for Saturday's doubleheader against Washington.

Sanchez was also available as the 29th man for Friday's scheduled doubleheader, but he didn't pitch in the matinee before the nightcap was postponed. He'll be available out of the bullpen once again during Saturday's twin bill.

Burnes (12-8) earned the win against the Marlins on Friday, allowing no runs on four hits while striking out seven and walking none over eight innings.

Friday's game turned out to be a pitchers' duel between two of the best pitchers in the game, as both Burnes and Sandy Alcantara lasted eight innings. Burnes took the win thanks to a sixth-inning sacrifice fly from Rowdy Tellez. Burnes needed 103 pitches, 62 of which were strikes, to get through eight frames. It was his fourth quality start in September and lowered his ERA from 3.11 to 2.98.

Alcantara (14-9) took the loss against Milwaukee on Friday, allowing one run on five hits while striking out eight and walking none over eight innings.

Alcantara pitched well enough to get the win, but received no support from his offense and left the game with the loss after tossing eight innings of one-run ball. He threw 75 of 100 pitches for strikes in what was his fifth quality start in a row. It was Alcantara's third game in a row where he lasted eight innings or more. The outing lowered the righty's ERA to 2.28, solidifying him as one of the best pitchers in the game. He has thrown a major-league leading six complete games this year, four of which have come since the start of August.

Oviedo (4-3) gave up two earned runs on six hits and two walks while striking out four over six innings to take the loss in a 2-1 defeat to the Cardinals on Friday.

Oviedo held his own against the postseason-bound Cardinals, but he received only one run of support and was forced to settle for the loss despite posting his second quality start in a row. Oviedo has become a regular part of the Pirates rotation since he was called up in September and has an ERA of 3.04 in six starts with his new team. He is tentatively expected to make his next start in a rematch against the Cardinals next week. As it will be the final game of the regular season, the Cardinals could be resting their starters in anticipation of their opening postseason series.

Flaherty (2-1) gave up one earned run on four hits and two walks while striking out six over six innings to earn the win in a 2-1 victory over the Pirates on Friday.

Flaherty made his best start of the season by holding the Pirates lineup to one run which scored on a bunt single by the speedy Ji-hwan Bae. Flaherty threw 95 pitches and has shown that he can handle a normal workload after missing most of the season due to a shoulder injury. The 26-year-old right-hander demonstrated a high ceiling in 2019 when he posted a superb 2.75 ERA and 0.97 WHIP over 196.1 innings. Depending on how the Cardinals decide to structure their rotation in the playoffs, Flaherty may take the mound in a rematch against the Pirates in Pittsburgh next week.

Kelly (13-8) allowed eight runs on nine hits and two walks while striking out two over 4.2 innings, taking the loss Friday versus the Giants.

Evan Longoria took Kelly deep twice and Mike Yastrzemski added a home run and an RBI double, accounting for seven of the eight runs Kelly yielded. The eight runs allowed matched Kelly's season high from May 17 versus the Dodgers. Outings like this have been rare for the right-hander, who still has a 3.43 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 170:59 K:BB through 194.1 innings across 32 starts. He's projected for one more start in 2022, which would be in Milwaukee next week.